Collapsible stretcher



May 21, l940- J. s. DUNN coLLAPsIBLE STRETCHER Filed Jan* I27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 21, 1940. .1. s. DUNN COLLAPSIBLE STRETCHER Filed Jan. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wig.

Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to stretchersand more particularly to a stretcher of the collapsible type.

An object of this invention is to provide a stretcher and means in the form of straps ior use with the stretcher so as to hold a person in the stretcher against longitudinal movement relative to the stretcher.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stretcher of this type which is designed parn ticularly for use in removing injured or disabled persons from buildings so that the stretcher may be lowered on the outside of a building with a person secured thereto so as to hold the person on the stretcher with as much comfort as possible.

A further object of this invention is to provide a stretcher of this kind which is adapted to be made substantially and entirely of metal and which is foldable or collapsible so as to occupy a relatively small amount of space and which may be extended to a full length stretcher so that l -normal size person may be secured in the stretch,-

er and the stretcher placed in a vertical position for lowering the person and stretcher on the outn side of a building.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved locking means for locking the stretcher sections together in extended position.

With the foregoing objects and others which may hereinafter appear,A the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understoodthat changes, variations and modicatons may be resorted to which fall within the scope oi" the invention as claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a detail top plan of a stretcher constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a detail side elevation of the stretcher,

Figure 3 is a bottom plan of the stretcher.

Figure 4 is a detail side elevation or` stretcher in collapsed position,

Figure 5 is a detail end elevation of the or end of the stretcher,

Figure 6 is a detail end elevation of the head or upper end of the stretcher,

Figure l is a sectional View taken on the line 1--1 of Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudithe foot p nal section partly in detail of the locking means for locking the two stretcher sections in eXtend- ,ed or operative position, and

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on the line -9 of Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings, the numerals i t and i l designate generally a pair of stretcher sections which are hingedly connected together by means of a hinge l2. The hinge l2 has one leaf i3 thereof secured as by rivets, spot welding or other fastening means ill to the upper end of the lower stretcher section It and the opposite leaf l of the hinge l2 is secured to the lower end of the upper stretcher section il by rivets, spot welding or other like fastening means i5. The lower stretcher section it comprises an elongated bottom plate Il provided with upturned longitudinal or side edges vIt forming a trough of suitable depth and an arcuate foot plate i9 overlaps the lower end of the bottom plate il and is secured thereto as by rivets, welding or the like as indicated at 20. The concave side of the foot plate l@ is disposed on the side of the plate Il having the side walls or flanges I3 and the convex side of the foot plate l5 is provided with a pair of eyes or rings 2l which provides means whereby a pair of exible members in the form of ropes or cables 22 may be secured to the eyes 2| in order to steady the stretcher while the stretcher is in a vertical position and is being lowered o-n the outside of a building.

A hand rail 23 extends longitudinally of each l side wall or ange It and is' supported in spaced relation thereto by means oi a plurality of supporting arms 2i which are secured at their lower ends as at 25 to the side walls i3. The `lower or inner ends of the arms 24 are disposed on an obtuse angle to the length of the arms 25 so that the outer looped ends 25 oi the arms 2d will be outwardly offset from the side walls i8. The inner ends 25 of the arms 2d may be secured on the inside of the side walls i3 by rivets El, spot welding or other suitable fastening means. The hand rails 23 are preferably constructed in tubun lar form and are provided with caps 2t at one end thereof so as to hold the hand rails 23 against movement longitudinally oi the bottom member l0. The hand rails 23 may be suitably secured as by welding, rivets or the like to the looped portions 2t of the supporting arms 2li.

A leg strap 29 extends about the two hand rails 23 being looped about the hand rails 23 and the strap 29 is provided with a relatively wide elongated pad member Sii which is adapted to engage the legs of the person positioned in the stretcher so as to hold, the legs against bending and preferably, the strap 29 with the pad 30 extends substantially across the knees of the person in the stretcher. In the present instance, there are three of the supporting arms 24 on each side of the bottom section I 0 and the strap 29 engages between the lowermost pair of supporting arms 24 and may be moved longitudinally of the hand rails 23 to the limit permitted by the lowermost pair of supporting arms 24. The upper end of each hand rail 23 is provided with a hook portion 3| and a slidable and tubular locking member 32 is slidable on each hand rail 23 adjacent the upper end thereof.

The upper stretcher member or section II is provided with a bottom plate 33 having upwardly bent side walls or flanges 34 similar to the flanges I8. The lower end of the upper section II is adapted to abut against the upper end of the lower section Il] when these two sections are in extended position and. the lower ends of the side walls or flanges 34 are adapted to abut against the upper ends of the side walls or ianges I8 so as to provide a substantially continuous channel from end to end of the stretcher. As shown in the drawings, the side walls of the lower section I0 taper or converge in a downward direction and the side walls 34 of the upper section I I also converge in a downward direction being formed as a continuation of the flanges or side walls I8. A hand rail 35 is disposed at each side of the upper section I I and is supportedin outwardly olsetrelation to the side walls 34 by means of a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart supporting arms 36. The supporting arms 3S have eyes or sleeves 31 at their upper or outer ends which tightly engage about the tubular hand rails 35. Each hand rail 35 is provided with a cap 38 at the upper end thereof so as to hold the rail 35 against downward movement. If desired, the rails 35 may be spot welded or otherwise tightly and securely held in the sleeves 31. The lower ends of each side rail 35 is provided with a hook portion 39 which is complemental to the hook portion 3| and the two hook portions 3l and 39 adapted to interlock as shown in Figure 8 and then the sleeve 32 is adapted to be disposed about the interlocked portions of the rails 23 and 35 so as to securely hold the hand rails 35 against release from each other. If desired the sleeve 32 may be provided with a suitable holding means in the form of a spring pressed pawl or locking means so as to hold the sleeve 32 in operative or locked position.

The upper end of the upper section II is provided with a head member in the form of a plate 40 which is secured as by rivets 4I, welding or the like to the bottom plate 33. The plate 4U eX- tends upwardly from the plate 33 and is provided with a right angular upper end portion 42. A V-shaped extension 43 is formed integral with the flange or extension 42 and is disposed substantially parallel with the plate 48 as shown in Figure 2. The V-shaped extension 43 is provided with an eye 44 adjacent the upper or convergent end thereof in which a hook 45 carried by a ilexible member 46 is adapted to engage. The flexible member 46 may be a rope which is used for lowering the stretcher when a person is strapped thereon. A pair of reinforcing rings 41 are disposed on opposite sides of the extension 43 so as to reinforce the extension about the opening 44.

In order to firmly hold a person in the upper stretcher section II, I have provided a pair of body straps 48 and 49 which are slidable on the hand rails or bars 35 and extend across the bottom 33. The strap 48 is provided with an elongated pad 5D and the strap 49 is provided with a similar pad 5I. These two straps 48 and 49 with the pads 50 and 5I are adapted to engage the torso or body of the person positioned in the upper stretcher section I I.

A pair of crotch or leg straps 52 and 53 are secured to rings 54 and 55 respectively which are carried by strap members 56 and 51 engaging the opposite side rails 35. These crotch straps 52 and 53 are of looped configuration and are adapted to engage about the thighs of the person positioned in the stretcher so as to rmly hold the person against longitudinal or downward movement in the stretcher comprising the two sections I and II.

In the use of this stretcher, the stretcher when in collapsed position will be disposed as shown in Figure 4 with the under sides of the sections I0 and II in confronting relation. The stretcher in collapsed position will occupy a relatively small amount of space and may be carried in a relatively small compartment or space. When it is desired to open the stretcher to receive a person, the two sections ID and I I are swung on the hinge I2 so that the locking portions 3l and 39 will interengage and then the locking or holding sleeves 32 are moved over the locking portions 3l and 39 so that these locking portions will be firmly held against disengagement. The person to be carried by the stretcher is positioned fiat on the stretcher and the straps 29, 48 and 49 are then tightened across the legs and body respectively of the person. The crotch straps 52 and 53 are engaged with the legs of the person so that when the stretcher is raised to a vertical position being in a hanging position from the cable or rope 46, the weight of the person will be substantially entirely borne by the crotch straps 52 and 53. The feet of the person are adapted to rest on the foot member I9 so as to relieve the straps 52 and 53 of undue strain and also to prevent undue discomfort to the patient by the straps 52 and 53. In certain instances the straps 52 and 53 may be dispensed with and transverse or cioss straps substituted therefor.

This stretcher may be made out of relatively light weight metal having the necessary tensile strength being preferably constructed out of aluminum or an alloy so that the stretcher will not in itself be unduly heavy but will have the necessary inherent strength to keep the stretcher from bending. When the stretcher is being low ered by means of the flexible members 46 the lower end of the stretcher may be guided by means of the flexible members 22 which are secured to the eyes 2! carried by the foot member I9. A stretcher constructed according to this invention may be manufactured at a relatively small cost, will last indefinitely due to the fact that it is constructed of metal, and is sufficiently braced against longitudinal bending so that it will properly support a person. This stretcher has been designed particularly for use in removing persons from buildings having no elevators or buildings which have caught on re or for other similar emergencies where a non-collapsible stretcher cannot be used in order to remove a person from a building.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible stretcher comprising a pair of channel shaped sections, means hingedly securing said sections together, a pair of hand rails for each section and disposed in parallel relation to the sides thereof, supporting arms secured to said sections and said rails for supporting a rail of one section in alignment with an adjacent rail of the other section when the sections are in extended position, interengaging locking means carried by said rails, a pair of locking sleeves slidably carried by certain of said rails and engageable about said locking means to hold said locking means in locked position, and a foot supporting member carried by an end of one of said sections and projecting in the direction of the open side of the channel thereof.

2, A collapsible stretcher comprising a pair of channel shaped sections, means hingedly securing said sections together, a pair of hand rails for each section and disposed in parallel relation to the sides thereof, supporting arms secured to said sections and said rails for supporting a rail of one section in alignment with an adjacent rail of the other section when the sections are in extended position, interengaging locking means carried by said rails, a pair of locking sleeves slidably carried by certain of said rails and engageable about said locking means to hold said locking means in locked position, a foot supporting member carried by anend of one of said sections and projecting in the direction of the open side of the channel thereof, a plate secured to the opposite end of the other member, a right angle eX- tension carried by said plate and disposed transversely of said other section, and a V-shaped member carried by said extension and extending outwardly thereof and in parallel relation to said plate, said V-shaped member having an openingk through the convergent end thereof to receive an end of a supporting means.

3. A collapsible stretcher comprising a pair of complementary sections, and means hingedly securing said sections together, each of said sections comprising an elongated relatively rigid bottom member, upstanding side Walls carried by said bottom member, upwardly and outwardly extending rail supporting arms carried by said side vvalls7 a sleeve carried by each arm, a pair of hand rails engaging in the sleeves of said arms, a rail of one section being disposed in axial alignment with a rail of the other section when the sections are in extended position, and interlocking means carried by the inner ends of said rails for holding said sections in extended position.

4. A collapsible stretcher comprising a pair of complementary sections and means hingedly securing said sections together, each of saidsections comprising an elongated relatively flat bottom wall, upstanding side walls integral with the opposite edges of said bottom wall, a plurality of upwardly and outwardly inclined arms secured to said side walls, a sleeve integral with the upper end of each arm, an elongated hand lrail at each side of a section engaging in said sleeves, the rails of one section being disposed in JOI-IN S. DUNN. 

